Principles of Research Integrity

The deans of seven UGC-funded faculties of medicine, Chinese medicine, health and social sciences, and sister schools in the self-financed sector jointly issued a statement to announce that they will not be accepting funding from or pursuing work for a research foundation and its affiliates funded by Philip Morris International. The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was newly established by the tobacco manufacturer with a US$1 billion contribution. ... Source: https://www.med.hku.hk/news/press/statement-on-the-foundation-for-a-smoke-free-world-and-tobacco-duty-increase-in-the-2018-9-budget

HUCOM (Heads of Universities Committee) took a decision back in 2002 that tertiary institutions would not accept tobacco industry funding of education and research activities. Staff have been advised accordingly since then. Source: HKU Research Services

Please see the two PowerPoint slides below on the sessions on research ethics by Professor Lisa Webley. Harnessing the Research Ethics Process to Develop Rigorous, Original Research in Law Postgraduate Research Studies in Law: Thinking Differently About Literature and Research Method in Law

The following shows the printed materials in the lunchtime session Dialogue on Research Integrity by Ms Zoë Hammatt, a licensed attorney and a professional consultant on research integrity. This lunchtime session seeks to build upon training RPgs in responsible research conduct through engagement with Ms Zoë Hammatt, who visited HKU enroute to attend the Asian and Pacific Rim Research Integrity (APRI) Network Meeting 2017. She held an informal session on research integrity that covered topics related to international collaborations and authorship, data management, and innovative ways to

In an increasingly internationalised academic environment, it is common that you may encounter subjects of another cultural background. Research ethics call for a culturally sensitive approach to this kind of research, because shared context can foster mutual understanding and trust and thus help to obtain the optimal outcome. However, on what amounts to cultural sensitivity in research, scholars differ in their understanding. Banister (2014) together with other co-authors defined cultural sensitive research as “research methods that have been adapted to incorporate knowledge of a cultural

For research involving human subjects, issues of privacy, confidentiality and consent will more readily arise and researchers will need to comply with the relevant regulations. Thus to tell whether a project constitutes human subjects research becomes important, especially in borderline cases, such as social media research. Megan Moreno together with her colleagues looked into this question. In their co-authored article "Ethics of social media research: common concerns and practical considerations", social media research was categorised into three types: observational, interactive and interview. Under the United

One of the most important instrumental values of maintaining research integrity is to produce excellent research. Giving proper credit encourages capable researchers to make the best of their potential. Following strict data handling procedures enhances the credibility of the research process. Record keeping enables fellow researchers to reflect on the research work conveniently. Adding these factors together, one could see why a research community underpinned by integrity outperforms others. Mr. David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science of the United Kingdom recognized that, “Excellence and

It is widely recognised that research involving human subjects should be given extra care. However the line seems muddled when it comes to research on social media posts. On the one hand, the posts are publicly available information. But on the other hand, individuals are behind these posts and social media research often requires deep qualitative investigation. Two scholars from the University of Colorado Boulder, Melissa Bica and Jennings Anderson, looked into the ethical issues around social media research with Twitter as an example. Despite

Sensitive research refers to those the discussion of which tends to generate an emotional response, such as traumatic experience or death or sex. To ensure safety, both in the physical and psychological sense, for all participants, from interviewers to interviewees, it is crucial to be responsible. Physical safety issues may arise for example in studies of domestic violence or child abuse. An appropriate assessment of the source and nature of the threat should be carried out and a clear protocol should be developed around it. Issues

In real life it is not easy for research misconduct to come to light. This is because details of how research is conducted are often known only to the people who work on it. And when research misconduct is perceived, not everyone is willing to speak out. Section 2.8 of HKU Policy on Research Integrity says, “Members of the university should report to the authorities concerned any research misconduct or suspected misconduct.” It recognises everyone shares the responsibility to uphold research integrity within the institution,